Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1887-12-09

| Again, this Gospel well, ike the one spoken
OF in the text, is captured well. David re-
membered the time when that good water OF
| Bethlehem was in the possession of his ances-
\ tors, His father drank there, hia mother
| drank there He remembered how the water
| tasted when he was a bov, and came no there
| from play. We never forget the Old well we
| used to drink out Of when ns were boys orgirls
mere was soncething in it that blessed the
| lies and reiI eshed the brow letter than auv
thing we have found since. As we think OF
| that dear Old we'll the memories Of the past
| dow into each other like crystalline drops,
| sun-ginted, and all the more az we remember
that the hands that used to hold the rome
and the hearts that beat Rgninst the we'll.
curb are still now. We never get owe these
"reminiscences George P. Morris, the
| great song writer of this country,
"Woodmsn spare that tree" was sung
in great concert hall, and the memories Of
| early life were so wrought uu0n the audience
by that song that, after the singing was done,
an aged man arose in tis Audience over
whelmed with emotion, and said: "Sir will
7ol please to tell me whether the woodman
| really spared the treep We never forget the
tree under which we played We never for
get the fountain at which we drank. Alas
| 'or the man who has no early memo ries
David thought Of that well, that bovhood
we'll, and he wanted drink Of it. but he re-
membered that the Philistines had captured
| 1t. When those three men tried to come up
| TO the well in behalf of David, they saw
| Swords cleaning around about it. And this
Is true or this Gospel well The Phlistines
| have at times captured it. When we come to
take a full, old-fasAionel drink of pardon and
comfort, do not their swords OF Indignation
and sarcasm flaSh} Why, the skeptics tell
| US that we cannot come TO that fountain!
they say the water is not fit to drink any
how. "lf you are really thirsty now, there
Is the well OF philosophy, there is the well of
| art, there is the well OF SCIENCE They try
| to substitute, instead of our hoyhood faith, a
modern. mixture. They say great
many beautiful things about the SOUL
and they try to feel our immor-
tel hunger on rose leaves, and mix
mint julep of worldly stimulants when
nothing viii satisfy us but "a drink Of. tho
| water or the well of Bethlehem, which is at
the gate" They try to starve us on husks,
when the Fathers banquet is ready. and the
best ring is taken from the casket, and the
sweetest harp is struck for the music,
and the swiftest foot is already lifted
for the dance. They patronize
heaven and abolish hell, and try to measure
eternity with their hour-glass, and the throne
| of the great God with their yard-stiCk! l
abhor it. tell you the old Gospel we'll is a
captured we'll | pray God that there may
be somewhere in the elect host three an
nointed men, with courage enough to 60
forth in the strength of the omni-
potent God, with the gllttering swords
of truth TO hew the way back
turning, and that the old Gospel is to take its
place again in the family, and in the univer-
sity, and i'll the legislative hall. Men have
tried worldly philosophers, and have found
out that they do not give any comfort, aud
that they drop an arcjic midnight upon the
al Sath p tl,,wsr fnH =,
dead child in the house; and when the soul
comes to leap into the fathomess ocean of
eternity, they give to the man not so much
as broken spar to cling to. Depend upon
| 1t, that well will come into our possession
again, though it has been captured If there
be not three anointed men III the Lords
host with enough conservation to DO the work,
then the swords will leap from Jehovah's
buckler, and the eternal three will descend
God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy
| GhoSt-conquering for our dying race the
way back again TO ''the water Of the we'll Of
Bethlehem, which is by the gate" III God
be for us, who can be against us!" "If God
spared not his own Son, but freely gavehim up
| for us all, how shall he not with him also freely
give us all thingsN "For l am persuaded
that neither height, nor depth, nor angels,
nor principalitiss, nor powers, nor things
present, nor things to GOMEZ shall take from
US, into final captivity, the Gospel Of my
| blessed LOru Jesus Christ
Again, the Gospel well, like the one spoken
Of in my text is well at the gate. The
traveller stops the camel to day, and gets
down and dips out of the valley Of the East,
some very beautiful, clear, bright water and
that is out of the very well that David longed
for. Do you know that that well was at
the gate, SO that nobody could go into
Bethlehem without going right past it, And
so it is with this Gospel well-it is at the gate.
1t is, in the first place, at the gate of purifica-
tion. We cannot wash away our sins unless
with that water. | take the responsibility
of saying that there is no man, woman, or
child in this house to-day that
has escaped sinful defilement. DO you
say it is outrageous and ungallant
for me to make such u charge DO you
say: 81 have never stoen-I have never
blaSphemed-I have never committed un.
CHASTITY have never been guilty OF
murder" I" l reply, you have committed q
sin worse than blaSphemy, worse than un-
chastity, WORSE than theft worse than mur-
der We have all committed it. We
have by our sins re.crucified the Lord, and
that is decide. And if there be any who dare
to plead mot guiltvn to the indictment, then
the hosts OF heaven will be empaneed us a
| jury 10 render unanimous verdict against
us; guilty one, guilty all. With what ash
ing stroke that one passage cuts us away
from all our pretensions. "There is none
some one, "all we want, all the race wants
is Development Now | want to tell you
that the race develops without the Gospel intc
Sodom, Five Points a great Salt Lake
City. 1t always develops downward, anC
never upward, except as the grace of God lay!
hold of it, What, then, is to become of our sou
without Christ! Banishment Disaster But
bless my Lord Jesus Christ that there is {
well at the gate of publication For grea
sin, great pardon. For eighty years OF trans
gression, an eternityo forgiveness. For crinK
deep ns hell, an atonement high as heaven
that where sin abounded, so grace may muci
more abound; that as sin reigned unto death
even 80 may grace reign through righteous
ness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ, oul
Lord. Angel of the Covenant. dip thy wing
in this living fountain to-day, and wave il
over this solemn assemblage, that our soul
may be washed in ''the water of the well o
Bethlehem, which is by the gate"
Further, remark that this well OF tn,
Gospel is at the gate Of comfort. Do yo,
know where David was whel he uttered tn
words OF the text! He was in the cave O
Adulam. That is where some OF YOU ar,
now. Has the world always gone smooth y
WITH your Has it never pursued yo,
with slanderl Is your health alway
goodf Have your fortunes neve
perishedl Are your children all alive ant
welll Is there no dead lamb in the fold
Are you ignorant OF the way to the cemetery
Have you never heard the bell toll when i
seemed as if every stroke OF the iron clappel
beatyour heart? Are the skies as bright wheI
you look into them as they used to b,
when other eyes, now closed, used tt
look into theml Is there some trunk OF
drawer in your house that you go to only OF
anniversary days, when there comes beatinr
against your soul the surf of great ocean o
agonyF 1t is the cave Of Adullam! The cav,
of Adullaml Is there some David herr
whose fatherly heart wayward Absolom hal
brOkenl Is there some Abraham here who i,
lonely because Sarah is dead in the family
plot of Machpelah' After thirty or forty
, | years Of companionship how hard il was fol